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It’s been a typical year at running back with several busts, a few surprise breakouts, and a ton of injuries. A few of those banged-up backs are eligible to come back this week (David Montgomery, Christian McCaffrey, Clyde Edwards-Helaire), but as usual, we likely won’t know their statuses until closer to Sunday. That makes putting together our Week 9 fantasy RB rankings a difficult task, but that’s nothing new for this time of the season.
First, here’s a reminder that Washington, Seattle, Tampa, and Detroit are on bye this week, so that takes away even more every-week starters. It also takes away some prime matchups, as Detroit and Seattle are two of the worst defenses against RBs and Washington is below average, too. Nonetheless, there are several matchup-based sleepers who can elevated off benches or even possibly picked up off waivers to help.
WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
A couple frustrating committees have top-10 matchups this week, with Zack Moss and Devin Singletary in great spots against the Jaguars and Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams presenting similar upside against Dallas. It’s always tough to guess which player in each committee will have the better game, but in these matchups — in this week — they all have at least flex value. The Raiders (@ Giants) and Eagles (vs. Chargers) also have great matchups, so depending on health, you could try two backs from each team. Right now, Josh Jacobs (chest) and Boston Scott look like the prime benefactors, but Kenyan Drake and Jordan Howard will also be involved.
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Houston’s duo of David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay have arguably the best matchup of the week against Miami, but, again, which one do you trust? Johnson seems to be the most likely to post good numbers, but Lindsay can’t completely be written off, at least in standard leagues. The same goes for Salvon Ahmed (vs. Texans), who will serve as Myles Gaskins’ complement. At this point, these three backs are barely flexes, but depending on your situation, you might need one.
Going even deeper, handcuffs AJ Dillon (@ Chiefs) and Nyheim Hines (@ Jets) could be in play as deep-league flexes. The really needy can try Devonta Freeman (vs. Vikings) if Latavius Murray (ankle) is back. If Murray is out, then, sadly, Freeman is almost a must-start.
As always, there are a few RBs with tough matchups. James Robinson (vs. Bills), Damien Harris (@ Panthers), and Chuba Hubbard (vs. Patriots) probably get too much volume to sit, though Harris’s workload can fluctuate greatly. Of course, Carlos Hyde (vs. Bills) might be starting for Robinson (ankle), and McCaffrey (hamstring) might be back to replace Hubbard, but once again, we probably won’t know until later in the week.
Khalil Herbert (@ Steelers) and Elijah Mitchell (vs. Cardinals) are also pretty close to must-starts at this point, too. However, Arizona’s duo of James Conner and Chase Edmonds (@ 49ers), the Jets’ Michael Carter (@ Colts), Atlanta’s Mike Davis (vs. Saints), and New England’s Brandon Bolden (@ Panthers) are tough sells. Conner always has TD upside, Edmonds has a pretty reliable floor in PPR leagues, and Carter is fresh off a breakout game, so those three will likely be in a lot of lineups.
These rankings could really get a nice facelift by the end of the week if it looks like some of the aforementioned stars are coming back, but honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if the opposite happened — even more key backs joined them on the inactive list. We’ll have to wait and see, and in the meantime, be ready to grab some key handcuffs.
Note: We’ll be updating these RB rankings throughout the week, so check back for analysis and the latest player movement.
Fantasy RB Rankings Week 9: Who to start at running back
Rankings are based on standard, non-PPR scoring
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